I am considering getting a Electronic Dictionary. I have heard that both Canon and Sharp are good. I have found their latest models, the wordtank G55 and the PW9910 respectively, but I am not sure which to get. Anybody know which is better?

(I also found a 9400 for cheap on ebay, so If there is nothing significantly different with it I might as well save money and get that instead if sharp is better)

I can give you praise about the Canon G50, which I would assume the G55 is only better. My G50 has rarely ever failed me--there are a small number of words I've had trouble finding in the J->E dictionary, but it never fails... they are in the J->J (which is better than nothing, IMO--and it makes me 'practice' my Japanese more. ^^).

The G50 has the 'jump' feature, so you can highlight a word in one entry and skip to it in another dictionary. (IE: coming across an unknown kanji) The Canon models can also be displayed in English, rather than just Japanese. I can't say if the Sharps do this too. Since most J<->E electronic dictionaries are designed for Japanese studying English, this is a nice feature of the Canon.

If I had one thing to complain about, though, it would be the kanji dictionary. Perhaps the G55 has improved this. If I search a kanji, I can look at a list of common compounds that use the kanji at the push of a button. However, the list only includes kanji-compounds that START with the searched-for kanji. While this can make searching for a compound word a bit more frustrating, it is not impossible by any means. When I was shopping for mine, I knew about this and STILL chose the Canon over other models. (And I got mine in Akihabara, so it's not like I didn't have a lot of options. ^^)

I am not going to spend money on a new elctronic dictionary anytime soon, but hey, I can dream, right?

I still have the old Canon Word Tank 3000. As someone (kates, maybe?) pointed out, the J-E section has fewer words than you might hope, so I have learned to use the kokuji, which may be a positive thing. BUT the thing I love about the J-E and E-J dictionaries in the Canon is the reibun. Compared to the dictionaries my Japanese friends have, the Canon has much better reibun! I sometimes actually read the dictionary reibun and enter them on flashcards -- they are almost as entertaining as real literature, and since the English and Japanese are both right there, it's one-handed reading! <g>

I also like the fact that you can look up kanji based on 部品読み as well as stroke count, on/kun and bushi, or combinations of this information. I can usually get an unfamiliar kanji to show up within the first 5 entries when I look it up in the kanji dictionary, so I love this interface. Reading the description on Clay's website, I'm not sure the Sharp can do a 部品読み lookup.

Things I do drool over in the Sharp: I'm guessing the Kanji-gen dictionary has more information about the history of kanji. (Assuming gen is 原. ) OED, if it had word origins, would be useful when working on English with my Japanese friends. Proverbs! Japanese word origins! Computer and email terms! (I am about to start reading a book called Densha Otoko, which I'm warned is written in the Japanese equivalent of Leet-speak.) Ah well.

I should mention that I bought my Canon from Clay and if you ask he will be happy to not only answer questions but make suggestions based on your interests.

Shira

As for the Sharp PW 9910, it does make me drool a bit.

"Give me a fruitful error any time, full of seeds, bursting with its own corrections. You can keep your sterile truth for yourself." -- Vilfredo Pareto